Ignatius of Antioch
“[T]he bishop of the church in Antioch at the beginning of the 2nd Century,” and an apostolic father. He died in 110 AD.
- From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. H. Needham, page 59:
Arrested for being a Christian, [Ignatius] was taken to Rome by a military escort, where the authorities executed him in about AD 110. As Ignatius journeyed to Rome, he wrote seven letters — to the churches of Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Philadelphia and Smyrna (all in Asia Minor), and the church of Rome, and a personal letter to Polycarp, bishop of the church in Smyrna. In these letters Ignatius strongly urged the supreme importance of unity in the local church, arguing that this unity depended on having one bishop in charge of each congregation. Ignatius’s letters reveal a deep spiritual devotion to Christ and an enthusiastic longing to sacrifice his life for Christ’s sake.
Learn more:
- Got Questions: Who was Ignatius of Antioch?
- Michael Haykin: ‘Come to the Father’: Ignatius of Antioch and His Calling to Be a Martyr
- EarlyChurch.org: Ignatius of Antioch
- Chrisitan History: Ignatius of Antioch
- 5 Minutes in Church History: Two Disciples of John: Ignatius
- Christian History Institute: I am the wheat of God
Related terms:
1From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. R. Needham.
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